The Salvation
by Leax
Summary: He's scared, confused and lost. To make things worse, he not only has lost himself but is slowly coming down with a serious sickness. Such a perfect timing especially if you're alone in the seemingly endless jungle somewhere in the Central America without any possible help, except for a few villagers, who would need help more than anything else, but you chose to ignore them.
1. His World

**A month ago I finally re-watched the TMNT movie again (I love it soooo much) and instantly reminded myself what was bugging me about the movie. To be honest, I think the movie was seriously awesome and Leo/Raph fight on the rooftop was +A, but I don't think it was ever explained why exactly Leo didn't come home sooner. I mean, there really must had been a darn good reason for him to break his promise. I'm sure he didn't just 'forgot'. So this is why I started writing this fic. It's my take on what might have happened to him in the jungle. My heading was that Leo somehow lost himself in the jungle, and lost who he is and was, and needed little something to bring him back to realization. **

**Also Leo and his bros are around 17 in this story. This is set in 2007 universe, but with a bit of changes. I absolutely love their 2012 eyes, as I think it matches their personality, so their eye colour will be different. That's all :)**

**This is my first multi-chapter TMNT story, so I'll see how it'll work out…**

**So anyway, thanks for clicking on the story :)**

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**Chapter One**

**His World**

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The wet mud on his feet was cold and it left him with an uncomfortable feeling of stickiness and dirt smeared all over his body. The smell of rotting plants, trees and mud was so overpowering that it almost made him gag just to think about it, no matter how long had he already been there. His steps were long and taken with difficultness due to his muscles aching and loudly protesting from moving any more, but still, he kept going, hoping to reach the near lake as fast as possible.

His throat was dry and he figured that if he had to say something, his voice would probably betray him right on the spot, due to not talking in days. The only sound that was freely breaking through the dominant and wary silence of the dark depths of the seemingly endless jungle was soft chirping of birds and small insects, as well as sound of distant waterfalls.

He made his way through the tangled brushes and vines, praying silently in his head not to again step on some snake's tail by complete accident as many days ago. It wasn't as if he was afraid of snakes, it was just that he didn't like the feeling of twisting snake's tail under his feet. Though he had already spent a little more than five full months here, away from his family and almost cut off from any kind of civilization, except for a few small, local villages spread throughout the jungle, he still hadn't gotten used to the new surroundings.

Patiently, he counted each day, each hour and minute from the day when he landed in this seemingly forgotten place, and waited for the day when he would finally be able to mark off the end of his six month training period to return home to his family.

Though the so wanted and anticipated return was only weeks, days away, it seemed so distant and unreachable at the moment, he didn't even dare to think about it anymore.

Luckily, he finally reached the destination he searched for; a small lake, filled with clear but cold water. The near fast moving stream was the source of where the water came from, so he never had to worry about freshness of the calming liquid.

He limped to the edge of the lake and dropped to his knees, wincing in pain while doing so. While his muscles hurt him terribly, the main source of the pain was still his knee. A few weeks ago, while he was climbing a tall tree, to hide from some wandering village people, his arms gave out, due to the lack of food, and he fell off the tree, injuring his knee in process. Though the tree wasn't really unusually tall, it was probably the angle of the fall that contributed to his injury.

He couldn't really walk properly for the next few days and tried to ignore the pain – though unsuccessfully, but still he was sure that his knee wasn't properly healed, as it betrayed him every once in a while. Especially the last few days.

He sighed and lowered his trembling hands in cold liquid, bringing and splashing it on his sweaty and hot face to help him cool down. The jungle air was incredibly hot and humid during the day, and he liked to stay in shadows - not only to stay hidden from wild animals and locals, but shadows also offered him a great deal of cooling when he needed it.

But right on contrary, when the night came everything turned around. Nights there were cold and chilly night wind didn't help at all. It was the perfect weather to catch a cold. Especially if you weren't used to this climate.

So it was no wonder why he felt he was coming down with something. He felt weak. Even holding up his trusted weapons started being difficult for him. Although he was tired – more like exhausted- he couldn't afford to get a well-deserved sleep, due to the dangers lurking in the shadows.

He didn't like the idea of being killed in his sleep, so he had to be wary of his surrounding all the time, and that slowly became too much for him.

He took a sip of the water, almost smiling at the pleasant, cooling effect that water had, while running down his burning throat. It was like that for almost a week now, and even if he did manage to find something small to eat, he had a hard time swallowing it due to the burning sensation in throat. It was almost impossible to ignore the pain, and the lack of food and rest drastically weakened his exhausted body.

His brother would probably be going nuts now if only he knew about the pain he felt. He made a mental note, to let Don know about this if the symptoms wouldn't disappear till his return home.

_If _he would come home.

He let out a sigh he didn't know, was holding in and looked at his wavering reflection in crystal clear water. He spent five months here, finding himself, trying to be a better leader and a ninja, meditating, living almost off of nothing, except for water in terrible living conditions, but yet he felt like he missed, or did everything wrong.

While it was quite alright the beginning few weeks – except for numerous food poisoning with different types of fruit and insects' bites- it only started to get worse as the days progressed.

He looked at a torn and muddy brown robe which was sprawled on the wet ground next to him. From the day one he knew there were a few local villages near the jungle. The only signs of civilization around here, and even they lived in terrible circumstances. A widely spread gang of bandits and criminals were heartlessly robbing the people living in the village, making them their slaves, stripping them of their valuables, goods and what little money they had. Those who objected, were either brutally beaten or murdered on the spot. He didn't know that at first. He liked to stay out of their business and instead of researching the villages, he preferred to concentrate on his training.

He didn't know who they were or why were they doing that. But they were criminals, and he never really understood them. All he knew was that they were evoking terror and fear in villages and while he knew that he should of have done something to stop this nonsense and to bring peace back to the villages, he never did anything.

Maybe it was his inner egoism that started showing when he found himself in troubling situation himself or had just enough problems on his shoulders already. Maybe he was just sick and tired of the same old story, when they saved numerous, but were still marked as monsters, underappreciated, worthless to many people outside who didn't give even give them a chance. Maybe he knew, he wouldn't be able to defend people in such a weak state he was in, and just gave in.

Though that was unusual for him and for a leader and a protector, this is a mistake he could never afford. Maybe he failed right at beginning, maybe he never really tried well enough. He was just so confused, his thoughts were all over the place. He couldn't even bring himself to meditate in peace to rest his mind if not body.

But that didn't mean he wasn't occasionally helping the poor locals. If one of them was hurt or lost in the jungle, he watched in shadows from the trees over them, until they found their way back home safely. He knew he could have done more, and his inner voice kept telling him to help the villagers in more way than just watching over them. He tried to distant himself from civilization and people as much as possible, not risking to be seen or interfering too much in their everyday.

While he knew that coming here could bring some salvation to the villagers, he was also afraid it would only worsen the situation for them. From personal experiences he knew, that those people who became close to his family, only suffered later, due to them involving in their lives.

He only visited villages on really rare occasions. And even when he did, he carefully sneaked in and stole some food when the hunger really kicked in. It made him feel horrible, stealing from already poor people, who did nothing to him and was completely against his honor, but at times he felt as if he had no choice.

Either steal occasionally or starve to death.

He even stole the robe from them one day in the beginning days when he realized that nights were too cold for his likings.

He didn't feel proud for doing so, and made a mental note to repay them somehow, but the only way he knew he could help them with, was to save them and their village from the criminals. And right now that was almost impossible as he could barely stand on his feet, let alone fight.

He didn't know when exactly had he started feeling so weakened, but he knew that sickness wouldn't go away if not treated properly.

His immune system totally crashed, and to be honest, that was expected to happen if one wasn't used to such extreme conditions. It wasn't the first time that he got sick since he had gotten here. He caught cold all the time, even back home in New York his immune system was the worst out of all his brothers. There wasn't a winter when he was completely healthy throughout the whole season.

So this was indeed a test, and a difficult task to accomplish. Six months isolated, all alone, not talking to anyone, except when he was feeling really down he occasionally confessed his emotion to some random bug or a bird. He just missed company.

He missed Donatello's inventions, how he always surprised them all with something new and helpful. He missed Michelangelo's antics, his hyperactivity and the sound of his laughing early in the morning. He even missed Raphael's sarcasm and their rivalry.

He untied his blue mask, that was now a bit ragged and dirty, the original sea blue almost long forgotten. He wondered what had sensei told his brothers the morning when he suddenly disappeared, without saying a single goodbye to anyone.

Did they understand? Did they hate him for not spending the last few hours of their time together with them? Would they ever forgive him?

Truth to be told, he never really liked the idea of his solitude training in the jungle so far away from his family. But still, he went with a flow and if master Splinter thought that was for the best, then why would he say no? A student and the leader must always listen to his sensei if he wanted the best for his clan.

He sunk the blue bandanna in the water trying to clean it at least a little bit before placing it back on his head. The crystal clear water around the fabric turned muddy, but in return the mask got a bit cleaner. It definitely lost its previous blue shine, but still it was better than nothing.

He missed his family; his brothers, sensei, April and Casey and still couldn't get over the fact that he left without absolutely no goodbye. What if something happened to him? What if those bandits accidentally saw him and caught or worse – killed him?

His family would never even know what happened to him. Though it would definitely be suspicious if he suddenly stopped writing monthly – sometimes weekly- letters to them, telling them he was indeed alright and alive. Though the jungle really did get the best of him.

But while he was always the quiet one of the family, never saying much, just watching and observing life unfold before his eyes, Leo was afraid of being alone. His life was never easy and so it wasn't easy for his brothers, but for him it all changed drastically the day Splinter chose him to be the leader. While the idea of leadership back then, when they were eight seemed so ideal and everyone wanted it, he only realized later, how far from ideal it really was.

His carefree days were over, as it became clear soon. And slowly, slowly after that, his friendship with Raphael slipped away. Maybe due to his full training schedule, and maybe it was jealousy. While Raphael always kind of seemed jealous of the leadership status his brother had gotten, Leo on the other hand had often felt jealousy for different reason. His brothers never had to train twice as hard as did he, they never had to take a full responsibility for whatever it might happen and never had to wear the burden on their shoulders. They were never afraid of failing, as brothers, students and leaders. They still had more of a childhood than he ever had.

But with great roles, came a great responsibility, and if any of them had to take such task of watching over them, he was glad it was him. He only wanted the best for his family, never intended on hurting any of them. Though sometimes, it seemed like it was all in vain, and he did the contrary.

He wished for his training to soon to be over. To return home, and apologize to his brothers for his sudden disappearance. Though he was scared that he had failed his task, right now the only thing that was on his mind was his return home. Nothing else mattered. He just needed to last a bit longer.

Leo closed his eyes and put on his soaked and cold mask, tying it back on. He almost smiled a little at the cooling feeling and it helped him greatly to decrease his throbbing headache even if only just for a few moments. He was sure he had a fever, since that would explain his fatigue and unpleasant shivers he was getting every now and then, but pushed it to the back of his head.

Maybe luck happened to be on his side and he'd find a small, cozy cave where he could sleep and rest for a whole day, without being tense or scared. Maybe so, he could finally rest his exhausted body and mind, but for now, he would need to hold on for a bit longer.

He coughed and cleared his throat, but no use. His lungs hurt, and every time he coughed it was like his insides were on fire. He leaned forward and took another sip of the water, hoping it would help him.

He never really realized how dangerous the jungle was until he had gotten in one himself. He was sure he'd lost quite a couple of kilograms during the past few months, but was determined to get back in shape as soon as possible when he returned home.

The water helped him a bit, but just as he was about to cough again, he heard a bloody scream coming from the jungle, almost making him jump in process. The scream was high pitched, and it seemed to end in a wail. Something must have happened to someone out there.

Or maybe it was the village kids that were messing around again as always. He had seen them multiple times, sneaking and playing around. Sometimes the brave ones also went in the jungle all alone, just to show the others their bravery. While to Leo it seemed like the stupidest idea ever, the kids loved it.

He was only a teenager but he often felt the need to watch over someone, like a father would over his children. Maybe it was because he was the eldest and had to look over his brothers.

He shook with head and went back to minding his business, muttering under his breath how reckless the kids were, when a loud gunshot rang out, scaring not only him a bit in process, but a flock of birds as well.

The blue clad ninja carefully listened for any sign of danger approaching him and he realized that the gunshot probably couldn't have happened too far away from him. He looked at the direction of it and watched the birds fly away in scare.

This definitely wasn't too far away from him, and while he silently agreed not to interfere with the villagers' lives, he couldn't help but felt a nagging feeling at the back of his head and it definitely wasn't a headache.

He debated in head whether he should stay where he was, getting a well-deserved rest or go take a look at what happened.

He knew what he should have done, and a year ago if he heard something like that, he would rush at the scene in no time, but now…Now he didn't really have a will to fight or even defend anyone but himself. He didn't know if it either was his own inner egoism or was it the fear his body wouldn't take the fight well enough.

Though he knew his brothers would be curious, or at least wanted to see what happened.

His father had always told him that fate of each person has already been established, and there was nothing that you could've done to prevent something from happening. It would only prolong it. So he stayed true to his father's words, respecting them.

Leo bit his lip, debating whether he should or shouldn't go. He looked down at his bandaged injuries and a pair of katanas carefully placed next to his legs. While his heart kept on telling him to go see what happened, even if it wasn't nothing, his muscles protested as never before.

He sighed, cursing at himself before going up on his unsteady feet and watched the world spin around for a bit. He let out a small growl and shook the dizziness away, before he grabbed his katanas and dashed towards the source of the gunshot.

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**So this is the end of the first chapter. It was some kind of a prologue, introducing the main character's situation and problems while living somewhere on the other side of the world completely alone and a bit scared. Because I believe that no matter who you are, at some point in such solitude you would get scared. The reason why Leo neglected to help the villagers was a bit mentioned here already, but it will also be explained in future chapters. I didn't want to go the classic way, Leo coming in jungle, seeing people in trouble and just knowing he found the purpose for being there. I wanted him to **_**realize **_**the people need him. And he will –in later chapters.**

**I also wanted to know the reason why Leo didn't come home sooner, so I thought about it, and made my own scenario in head. Oh and this isn't going to be any Canon/OC story. I respect those kind of stories, but some of the OCs are waaaay too mary sueish, and I hate when OCs take over the main characters.**

**So this is it for now, I hope everything is correct (grammar and spelling) since English isn't my first language. I had a hard time uploading this, since I couldn't remember my email (I changed my computer, because the previous one broke down, and lost absolutely everything.) Thank God I remembered it.**

**Thanks for reading and I would love if you reviewed and tell me what you think about it :)**


	2. The Protector

**Here's the second chapter! Had so much trouble uploading it – again! -.- I swear to God, computers seem to have a grudge against me.**

**This chapter is kinda…long. Like, really long, but I wanted to describe everything as detailed as I imagine it when I think of the scene. Also guys, you rock! Like, seriously 10 reviews, 8 follows and favorites just for first chapter!? Ohmygod, I couldn't believe my eyes.**

**I love you all sooo much! Thank you so much for such positive feedback, you can't possibly imagine how giddy and happy It made me fee when I read your reviews! Thank you so much! *hugs***

**So to stop with my author note, let's move on next chapter. :)**

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**Chapter Two**

**The Protector**

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He hurried through the thick jungle thicket, occasionally tripping over some logs or any kind of leaves since the jungle grounds were anything but even. Though his moves were painful, and his muscles hurt more than he could ever imagine, he kept going. He reached for one of his katanas placed in holster and pulled it out to help himself make his way through the dark jungle. The tall trees kept out the daily, sunny light at most part of the jungle, so luck was this time on his side, as he could easier blend with the shadows.

The jungle was quiet but majestic in all its mystery. It seemed the closer he ran towards the source of the gunshot, the quieter it got. Maybe it was because all the birds flew away from that scene in scare. He couldn't blame them, really. He had spent so long in his solitude and peace so that a gunshot startled even him. It just seemed too foreign to his ears.

Although he didn't like it that much, he had to accept it. The jungle had become his new home. At least temporarily.

As he spent the last few months living here, he realized that the jungle was like one big family, where all the parts are connected and work like one big machine. He could see the circle of life and death and how death leads to a new life. And yet he felt like a complete stranger, an intruder.

Leo winced as he took a wrong step and his injured knee gave out for a moment. It hurt him, and the pain continued throbbing for some time, until he cleared his mind with such thoughts of pain and concentrated on finding the source to the gunshot. He could almost see the distant monkeys making their typical monkey sounds at him, for being such a weakling.

He cut through the tall green grass and breathlessly leaned against the tree. His stamina was greatly damaged, and he knew if he had to battle, the fight wouldn't last long. He leaned his head against the cold tree trunk, hoping that the throbbing pain would go away, even if just a little. He was absolutely exhausted, and even his concentration on the path was starting to slip away due to the dizziness.

He harshly coughed and leaned forward while doing so in case he would throw up again like earlier that day. Though that seemed impossible to him as he had absolutely nothing in his stomach, except water from previous short stop at the lake. He was feeling nauseous, but tried to ignore it.

Leo shuddered and gently shook with head, hoping to clear his blurry vision but to no avail. He sighed. He really wasn't doing well, and if he admitted that, then something seriously was bad.

He steadied his breathing, ignoring the pain in his chest like he was always taught. Splinter always taught them that no matter how injured or in pain they were, they always had to push those thoughts aside and concentrate on their task. And that was exactly what he's going to do.

He took a deep breath, ignored the pain and slowly started taking painful steps, before the steps turned into light run. Although in pain and limping, he was still a ninja, and managed to stay as quiet as possible. Shadows were ninja's best friends and the perfect place to hide.

He soon heard the distant talking and he knew that from now on, if he didn't want to be seen and heard he had to be extremely quiet. He slowly sheathed his katana and steadied his breathing, tensing. Whatever had happened earlier, the source of the gunshot…something was still going on.

He stepped closer, narrowing his blue eyes at the ground underneath his feet, hoping not to step on any dry leave or a stick. He didn't want to make any more sounds that necessary. After all, even in his current state, he was a ninja, and ninjas are always quiet and stealthy.

Leo walked closer to the tall, widely spread bush. Whatever was going on, it was still happening as he could hear people talking just on the other side of the brush.

The blue clad ninja looked around and at the bush in front of him. Now if only he could somehow manage to look through it, well…that would…help. Although he was quite tall, being the second tallest in the family, he still hated the fact that to him a simple 'plant' was taller than him. He reached forward and tried to move away some branches that prevented him from looking, but realized it was an extremely bad idea, as soon as one of them cracked in his hands.

He froze as he heard the talking suddenly stop and cursed mentally at himself and at a stupid part of the 'plant' that now he held in his palm.

Expecting to be found, he didn't know what to do. If he turned around, they would hear him, because it was quite difficult to run around in the jungle without making any noise. Now if he stayed right where he was, he would stay hidden, and at least prepared if some of the people that he heard talking before decided to attack him.

Luckily, everything turned out alright for him, and Leo almost thanked God that he wasn't found. The people – he assumed one of them was a man, due to his gruff and deep voice – resumed talking, and seemed to forget that they even heard anything.

He looked at the small part of the branch in his palm and rolled eyes. Who knew that out of every single thing in the jungle, he would hold a grudge against a branch?

Not wanting to throw it away now, not risking to make more noise, he wanted to put the broken part of the branch in the pocket of his ragged robe. But as soon as he brought down his hands he realized with terror that in all his hurry when he dashed after the gunshot rang out, he forgot to put on his cover.

_Now _it would be joy if he suddenly got seen.

Leo felt as if he could slap himself right there and then. But he resisted the urge to do so, as he didn't really want to increase his already killer headache. He had to come up with a plan quickly. If he already decided to investigate what happened, then he might as well be careful about it.

His blue eyes frantically looked around and stopped on the near medium tall tree.

As a kid, climbing wouldn't even come in his mind as he was too scared of heights. Luckily he conquered his fear with his master's help. If he didn't he knew he could never be a ninja.

He slowly made his way to the tree, carefully checking it if it's stable enough to hold him. He made quite a lot of mistakes in the last few months when he didn't check and the tree was rotten, thus leading to his numerous falls.

He grabbed the nearest branch to help himself with his poor knee and swung his body up, gracefully landing on a bigger, more stable branch. He kneeled and carefully removed some leaves that blocked his view on the scene in front of him. To his luck he managed to spill with shadows without problem.

Leo's eyes narrowed as he watched the scene in front of him unfold. There were three tall, bulky men, dressed in brown and black, standing tall with guns in their hands, while the fourth towered over a young couple. A brown haired man in his late twenties, early thirties was lying on the ground with blood pouring out of his nose. There was no doubt that the men who held guns caused it.

Next to him was a black haired woman, who seemed to be the same age as the injured man, frantically screaming at the men in Spanish language.

Leo almost smirked a little. Whatever she said, it certainly wasn't nice. Moments like these he wished he could speak Spanish more fluently. If anything, it was an interesting and fierce language, and while he knew some basic words and sentences, he still couldn't understand most of what villagers said.

But his small smirk soon disappeared when the bearded bulky man, who Leo presumed was the leader of his team, walked forward and grabbed the screaming woman by the collar of her shirt. He watched as the injured man planned forward in hopes to protect his woman, but backed down when one of the men pointed a gun to his head.

The injured man calmed down and Leo could see him muttering something, but unfortunately due to his lack of knowledge of Spanish vocabulary he failed to understand. He didn't know whether he said something entertaining or if the beardy man just mocked him when he started laughing heartlessly at him. He assumed it was the last.

He watched as the injured man spat at the man who was still holding the woman by the collar of her shirt and in return got the gun pressed tighter against his skull. The woman's eyes widened and she seemed to frantically plead the man to not hurt either of them.

"_Yeah right." _Leo thought and tried hard not to cough. While he was in New York he often saw the similar scenes unfold before his eyes while he was patrolling the city. Either it were wars between gangs or some dirtbag with a little help from his fellow gang mates stopped a random unfortunate woman and planned to do the unthinkable to her.

Scenes like that were way too frequent, and he remembered the first time they witnessed and stopped rape – it was him and Raphael – they were both a bit traumatized for a week. It was a heavy topic and a painful thing to talk about to anyone, and the scene seemed to forever engrave in their minds.

He still couldn't believe that someone is even capable of doing such things to innocent victims.

They did beat the crap out of the rapist that day, buying the woman time to get decent enough to run away, while they took care of scumbag. As soon as they were sure he wouldn't be able to move and that the police was coming to the scene, they escaped through the nearby manhole and silently made a promise not to talk about this to anyone.

Their way back to the lair was filled with silence, and he knew the others were worried that something happened to them due to their lack of communication and interest in doing anything.

Even if he's a trained ninja and had interfered in many similar incidents, he still couldn't forget the image. Those things could really get to you.

"NO!" His thoughts were interrupted by a loud scream coming out of the injured man's throat and it brought him back to reality. The man obviously, desperately wanted to go up and help the woman, who was roughly pushed on the ground when the bulky man slapped her across the face.

Leo's hands automatically twitched for his katanas, but the second he realized that he frowningly shook with head. He couldn't help them, he was in no shape or form and would only risk his own life if he decided to lend them a hand.

He would wait. He was patient when he wanted to be and this time it was no different. He wouldn't leave them alone, he knew that. He would stay and observe the uneven fight before his eyes.

Leo softly closed his eyes and lowered his head. He knew that what he was doing wasn't the right thing he should have done, yet there was little he could do.

He wondered what splinter would say. Would he understand his decision or would only make him feel worse, scolding him for his ignorance. He knew Raph would be absolutely pissed at him, he knew that already.

He wasn't a hero and he knew he wasn't perfect no matter how hard he tried to be. He was never the perfect leader for his brothers and he knew that. But yet Splinter chose him to be the head of the clan. He wasn't fearless, he was far from being fearless.

He had so much fears and faults that he couldn't even count on fingers on both of his hands.

"Por favor," The woman wailed scared, "Estoy embarazada."

Leo looked up from the shadows. Even if he didn't speak Spanish fluently, couldn't understand it but yet he thought he knew the meaning of the words she had spoken. The struggling woman before was with a child, and yet it seemed like none of the bastards holding them hostage and threating to kill them seemed to care.

The spoken words made him uneasy. He could – with heaviness in his heart – ignore two adults even if it was against his honor. But the story changed when it involved an innocent life, a child.

The blue clad ninja couldn't look at the people before him. 17 years of training the secret art of ninjitsu, 17 years of hiding in shadows…and now he was faced with a decision that could change it all. If he wasn't injured and sick and if he had his cloak on, then it would all be easier for him.

He didn't care if the bandits knew of his existence, he would make sure their mouths would stay sealed forever. But there were two victims and he couldn't let them know that there's a tall, walking, talking turtle that happened to be trained in ninjitsu, living in their jungle. Not only could that cause trouble for him, but for his brothers and sensei as well.

"La dejo ir." The injured man on the ground pleaded and the woman looked at him sorrowfully. "Por favore."

There was so much plea in his voice, and Leo could only imagine what he was saying.

Maybe he could help the couple and defeat the bastards, but still the woman and her man would see him. In New York it was different. People they saved either thought they were dressed up, masked to imitate some kind of a superhero or just freaks of nature. Though no one ever believed them even if they told someone about giant turtles walking around, so there really wasn't a reason to panic.

But here it was different. As little time as he spent near the village, he came to realization that people here were extremely religious and superstitious and would be ready to believe everything someone said, even if it was a complete lie.

In short, letting them know of his existence was a terribly bad idea.

"_But still…" _Leo thought silently He would never forgive himself if an innocent baby was killed in his act of selfishness.

"Usted paga." The beardy man began and brought woman up to her feet, pulling her by her hair. "O ella muere."

The woman cried and struggled hard against the rough grip the man had on her but he didn't seem to care.

"No…" the brown haired man reached for her hand upon seeing that, but was pushed back by one of the leading man's comrades.

"Haz lo que elijas." Their leader chuckled darkly. "Aunque-"

But the man never finished his words. A loud sound of someone jumping from great height on the ground right behind him, stopped him from doing or saying anything anymore. He didn't even dare to turn around at first, but due to the horror spread on his comrades' faces his curiosity got the best of him. He turned around, his arms still holding the woman, whom he almost released due to the shock at what was awaiting him.

"Ay dios mio…"

There, a few meters away from him stood a tall green creature, wearing some kind of straps and knee and arm pads. The long, slightly tattered tails of its blue mask waved in the calm, afternoon wind, though he paid no attention to it. The, whatever that creature was it seemed lithe and had quite muscular body, even though the shell on its back seemed quite hindering and clumsy.

"Una tortuga?" one of the bandits that continued to point a gun to the poor man's head stuttered out in fear. Whatever that thing was, it looked dangerous and he especially hated the way the creature, the giant turtle seemed to look at him.

Leo waited for screams, fear stricken faces, but the fact that everything stayed silent made him feel only more uncomfortable than he already did. "_Great…now I'll be the village's mascot…or whatever Mikey would say."_

He could sense their fear, slowly creeping in and it gave him a little amount of confidence and authority he needed. While he always seemed to be the quiet, calm one, he always enjoyed a good fight. He just chose it wisely.

This one wasn't exactly his wisest choice, but lives were in danger and he had to do something. His honor got the best of him even in the worst imaginable scenarios ever.

He growled lightly and narrowed eyes, hoping the men would take the sign and ran away while they still could. He didn't really care for them. Bad guys were bad guys, and no matter what it takes, you could never change them, even if you tried your best.

"¿Qué es esa cosa?" the leader mumbled in mixture of astonishment and fear. Leo didn't know what had he just said, but he didn't care. "¿Qué eres?"

"Creo que nos lo enojó." One of them said and Leo made a mental note not to only learn basic words but also to fully learn Spanish one day.

The look on the bulky man's face changed from shock to a complete mixture between the one of a fake courage and confidence and Leo only smirked a little but kept his eyes on them, carefully watching and waiting for any sudden movement.

"Es un monstruo." The tiniest and the least brave as it would seem, stuttered out nervously and Leo's face fell. No matter how many times they were all called monsters, the words still pained him when spoken. Calmly, he reached and drew one of his katanas, making the men question their confidence.

"Tiene una espada!" The small coward of the team pointed at the katana in his hands, suddenly wishing he'd be anywhere but here.

"Nos va a matarnos." The other man replied and held his gun aimed at Leo.

The leader man's eyes narrowed at the now, obviously armored turtle creature standing before him. Whatever the thing was, intelligent or not, it sure seemed dangerous. He quickly glanced down at the woman, who wasn't even struggling in his arms anymore, and looked at the green thing with horror written all over her face. Her husband hadn't even moved an inch, since the creature appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. His face mirrored his feelings of shock and surprise at the sight.

"Acabar con él." He ordered the men, his voice harsh and low. The entrance of that freak only disturbed his 'business talk' and stole his precious time. And besides the thing scared him to the bones.

The three men looked uncertainly at their leader, who only yelled at them, repeating the order. They turned around to face the creature standing before them, who seemed to be tense about something.

One of the men roared and pulled the trigger on the gun aimed at Leo, hoping to please his leader with the first action. Little did he know the consequences…

Leo's blue eyes narrowed in thin lines as he saw one of the bulky man's servants try to take him down by pulling the trigger. Luckily he expected the attack, calculating his choices and possibilities he'd have in the battle. He growled and swiftly dodged the fire by jumping away on the left side, landing gracefully on his feet. Although he was full of adrenaline as he loved a good fight, he could feel his knee wanting to give out. Such fast and swift movement didn't help at all with his pain.

The remaining two armored bandits followed their comrade's idea, firing their guns at the lithe turtle, who continued dodging them with almost no effort put into it. It seemed as if he was used to bullets flying towards him.

Leo swore under his breath, keeping a close eye on the guy standing in the middle who began the fight. He was quite daring he had to say.

"_But foolish." _He said to himself and lunged towards the man, whose face paled in second when he saw the turtle draw its second sword and speed towards. Although his mates kept the turtle busy, firing the guns at it and trying to stop it from attacking either of them, it was soon obvious that they were absolutely no match for it.

The middle man's eyes widened as he looked up at the turtle that jumped in the air and kicked him hard in the abdomen, sending him flying across the meadow until he hit the ground and stilled. Whatever that thing was it sure was strong.

Leo shook with head, trying to shake off the burry black dots that had started forming at the edges of his vision, but to no avail. He had no time to rest and shake his dizziness away as the two other came closer. One of them, who seemingly ran out of bullets based on his horror stricken realization on face even, threw his gun on the ground and reached for his sharp jungle machete.

The blue clad ninja saw the man smirk for a second, but was too busy with keeping an eye on the other, who was still shooting at him. He lunged forward and tried to kick the gun out of man's hands, but failed to as he suddenly – much to Leo's surprise- managed to duck. Even the man seemed surprised by his own actions, but it was quickly wiped off as he received a fierce punch in the face.

Leo quickly turned around and used katanas to block the attack from the bandit with a jungle machete. He took a step forward, gritting his teeth together as he felt another wave of pain hit him hard. He managed to take a short glance at the leader who was holding a knife pressed against woman's throat, threatening the injured man who didn't dare to turn around. The man kept glancing to the woman being held but his eyes followed the unfolding fight with interest.

Leo hissed as the tip of the machete made a painful contact with his arm, but pushed it to the back of his mind. He steadily took a step back, ready to side swipe his opponent and to finish this duel, but had completely forgotten about the other man who was on the ground after being punched hard in the face.

The lying bandit took his opportunity and managed to hit Leo hard in the back of his knee, making it buckle all of sudden and gave in. The ninja bit back a scream of pain as he fell back on his shell. Out of everything he could hit, it just had to be his poor knee. How fitting.

Leo let out a small groan, even though he tried to hide the pain he felt. The last thing he needed was their knowledge of his weak, injured spots. While the pain in his knee was somehow tolerable, his head felt like it would explode anytime now. He closed his eyes for a second, wishing he could be far away from here now, somewhere where he could rest and heal in peace and silence.

Perhaps New York. Yes, New York. If he only knew about his current condition, Leo knew Don would probably chain him to the bed, forbidding him from anything, even batting an eye if not in his watchful presence. Though he wouldn't mind. He wouldn't mind at all.

The sudden yell made him shake out of his thoughts and look forward, only to see the man wielding a machete, racing to stab him in the chest. He had no time to duck or move and jump on his feet, so he only managed to do his least favorite thing.

Defend himself…

…but kill the man.

He quickly reached for one of his katanas that lay on the ground next to him and managed to point it up just in time when the machete wielder jumped to attack.

Leo closed his eyes at the unpleasant sound of stabbing. He tried to ignore the painful gasps and gurgles coming out of man's throat. He felt the man struggle against his sword, before he went limp, and everything fell silent. The atmosphere changed drastically, all movements from either the bandits or the couple slowed down to a halt and he felt every pair of eyes on him, judging him.

This was the part he hated the most. While he almost had no bad feeling while fighting bad guys, he hated the idea of ending someone's life. He absolutely despised the idea as it made him feel no better than a criminal himself.

So it was no wonder, why when he and his brothers fought bad guys, he – if it was really necessary – made sure it was him who finished someone off. It was a heavy decision and a burden of being responsible for someone's death was suffocating.

He couldn't let his little brothers feel the responsibility, the pain of such horrible deed. He could spare them the suffering and being the eldest and the leader he knew what he should do.

He made sure that especially Mikey and Don wouldn't have to give the final blow to their opponent if they had a choice. They would feel horrible for killing a person, even if it was in self defense. What if that person, that Foot soldier, Purple dragon or just some random street scumbag had a wife and kids at home, waiting for him? He couldn't let them suffer. But yet he couldn't always prevent that from happening.

He remembered it clearly when Mikey killed someone for the first time. It was a Foot soldier, and it was in self defense. Still, Mikey wasn't himself for a long time after that, and it was then that he and Raph made a silent agreement that as big brothers they'd watch over them, keeping them same from pain and sorrow.

"No! Rodrigo!" one of the bad guys yelled and brought Leo back to reality. He quickly pulled out his bloody katana and moved away.

Slowly he stood up on his unsteady feet, his knee buckling. He looked as one of the men ran over to the guy he killed in defense and checked for any signs of life from him. But found none.

"Mataste a mi hermano!" he suddenly yelled and slashed at Leo, who moved away with little effort. He brought up his bloody katana, stopping the tall man from stabbing him in his side with a machete. The man was enraged, his fury was visible in his dark orbs and while Leo wasn't scared, he felt terrible. Whoever that man he killed off was, they sure cared for each other.

He limped backward, moving his head just in time to duck as he aimed to slice his head off. Leo took the opportunity and spun around, taking the jungle man by complete surprise, before stabbing him in lower abdomen, mortally wounding him.

The man fell to his knees, blood oozing out of his sliced wound and Leo had to look away. Even if those guys were bastards and deserved everything what happened to them, he still felt a great pang of guilt.

The wounded man's body dropped on the muddy, jungle ground still as ever. Like a rock sinking to the pit less dark blue ocean, entombed in a world of silence and darkness, forever to wait in its place slowly decaying

He had just brutally killed two men in hopes to save the innocent people. He didn't want to, but was kind of forced to. That was one of the reasons, why he since he arrived in Central America, made sure to stay out of people's lives. He knew that if he tried to protect them, someone would die, and he hated the self blaming after that. He hated killing, he hated someone dying, due to his actions. The images of the fallen men still sometimes haunted him in his dreams, following him around, blaming him for everything.

Their death was his fault and he felt disgusted at himself when realizing what had he done.

A while ago he had a long conversation with master Splinter about this, who tried to help him erase the pain and make him understand that he did what had to be done. It was a part of a life of ninja and he had to accept it even though it pained him.

Suddenly everything slowed down but the bullet came at the speed of light. Every movement around him slowed down to an excruciating pace. He could hear the overpowering silence like a huge bass drop, coming to a complete still as everything went in slow mode.

He could feel his wild pulse pounding through his body, and escaping in little torrents through the open wound in his left shoulder, near his collarbone.

He felt the pressure on his skin, he felt the muddy ground as he collapsed back on his shell, his katana falling out of his hand, but he could still see clearly. He felt no pain at first, but the hard punch like strike from kinetic energy of the bullet.

It wasn't so much the pain, but the shock, the surprise, of almost anticipating, feeling the hot, wet pain in his shoulder, the hole the bullet made. He had never ever before been shot and neither had been any of his brothers.

Then all of sudden the pain finally kicked in and he couldn't help but let out a short, quiet scream. This sort of pain was nothing like he ever experienced. It was totally new, making him vulnerable in more ways than just one.

The pain was hot and it slowly spread all through his body as the crimson liquid continued to roll down from the wound.

He felt sweat drop down from his forehead as he looked up at the leader of the small group of bandits, finally stepping in the fight. He held the gun steadily in his hands, frowning at the shoot turtle before him.

The turtle ended lives of his two most trusted comrades and he realized it was time to return the favor.

"_Good thing he's got a bad aim."_ Leo thought as he tried to support his weight with his good arm, wincing and groaning in pain. His breathing was uneven, maybe due to the long fight he had behind or maybe from the shock of sudden shot.

He looked at the bleeding wound, inspecting it. How he wished he had Donnie here to right now. He didn't know how deep the wound was, there was just too much blood pouring out and the hot pain he felt made him even dizzier than he already was.

He accidentally moved his left arm as he tried to get on his feet again and screamed in pain. The pain he felt was unbearable and he couldn't even twitch with his arm, without causing the pain to shot through his body.

The blue clad ninja felt a wary presence coming closer and had to look up only to be faced with the sight of a gun pointed at him. He let out a pained growl at the man holding it. Although his two servants were killed he was still almost smirking manically, mumbling some words Leo didn't understand under his breath.

Leo's eyes squinted as he watched the man's fingers slowly move to pull the trigger and he knew what was going to happen to him. He took a deep breath and used all his remaining, slowly decreasing energy to stretch his leg and with a powerful kick swipe the unsuspecting man off his feet, making him crash on the ground.

Leo tried hard to move upward as quickly as possible, to remove the gun out of the man's reach before it's too late. He cursed and tried to fight back the numbing pain as he somehow managed to stand on his feet.

He grabbed for his remaining katana, and kicked the man in his abdomen while he was trying to get up, sending him falling back on his back. The man screamed in pain and hurriedly tried to move away, but it was I no avail as the sharp tip of the katana made a contact with the man's back, making him go limp in second.

Furiously, Leo pulled the katana out, holding it carefully in his good hand, while his left was totally numbed from the pain. He desperately tried to catch his breath, but he failed at controlling his breathing as the dizziness slowly started creeping in.

He tried hard to block out the dangerous blurry spots of blackness that appeared at the edges of his vision when he heard the distant whispering words. His eyes widened in realization as he remembered the reason of his fight.

He looked at the direction from where the whispering came from and he froze in second. The couple he saved was still here, just a few meters away from him, watching him with fear and shock written all over their faces. The black haired woman was now kneeling next to her husband and noticeably trembling with fear from traumatic experience.

The injured man was supporting his weight with elbows, but paid no attention to the stuttering words the woman was saying to him. His eyes stayed fixed at the tall and lithe green creature before him watching him in awe. Though this was a shock to him, being rescued by some sword wielding turtle, he didn't show it the way his wife did.

Leo swallowed hard, feeling the panic slowly rise inside of him. He was injured, he was bleeding heavily and on top of it all he was seen by villagers while standing there frozen like a statue.

But he couldn't move, his feet protested from making any sudden movements, he couldn't even make a sound. He stood there, still trying to take a control over his breathing, but was unsuccessful.

"_You're such an idiot Leo," _He cursed at himself in his mind, thinking about the numerous mistakes he had made in little less than fifteen minutes. And on top of it all he was injured, blood literally flowing out of his wound but he had nothing to stop it.

He had failed his master's wish. He was sent in Central America to train to be a better leader, to be better at making decisions after he'd find himself again. But he failed miserably at it. The worst of it…he was seen. He was freaking seen by people and couldn't do anything about it. He made numerous mistakes over the months, but the mistakes he had just made were the biggest and the most dangerous not only for him, but for his family as well.

He winced as another sharp wave of pain jolted through his body, almost making him collapse right here and then. He took a deep breath, concentrating on keeping the pain away.

He could feel his energy quickly decreasing and he knew if he wouldn't run away now, then he was about to lose conscious right before the humans. And that would just be the worst thing ever.

Leo's eyes widened as he realized the man was standing up with eyes still fixed on him, never leaving their target.

That was bad, that was really, really bad.

He quickly sheathed his bloody katana and with all remains of his strength turned around and limping raced towards the jungle to hide himself in it. He realized too late that he was missing a katana. But he couldn't afford now to turn around and go back for it. While he totally despised the humid jungle, it was also offering him great places to hide himself when he needed it.

He gritted his teeth as he placed his hand over the wound, trying to stop the bleeding when a morbid but realistic thought crossed his mind.

Splinter sent him here to train to accomplish the last few techniques he had to learn before becoming a master himself. While Splinter's idea was for Leo's own well it might just be that he unintentionally sent Leo to his own death. And that was exactly what Leo feared the most at the moment.

* * *

**Translations:**

"**Por favor" – "please"**

"**Estoy embarazada" – "I am with child."**

"**La dejo ir" – "Let her go"**

"**Usted paga" – "You pay."**

"**O ella muere" – "Or she dies."**

"**Haz lo que elijas." -"Your choice"**

"**Aunque-" – "Although"**

"**Ay dios mio…"- "Oh my God."**

"**Una tortuga?" – "A tortoise?"**

"**¿Qué es esa cosa?" "What is that thing?"**

"**¿Qué eres?" – "What are you?"**

"**Creo que nos lo enojó." – "I think we made it angry."**

"**Es un monstruo." – "It's a monster!"**

"**Tiene una espada!" – "It has a sword!"**

"**Nos va a matarnos." – "It's going to kill us."**

"**Acabar con él." – "Kill it."**

"**Mataste a mi hermano!" – "You killed my brother!"**

***Please take note that I however, don't speak Spanish, although I have a great desire to finally learn it one day, so I helped myself with Google Translator. So I already apologize in advance if any of translations are wrong or grammatically wrong. Just tell me and I'll fix it :)**

**So this is it for this chapter, I've been writing it ever since I uploaded the first, but due to school and some problems at home, I was unable to finish it earlier. Hopefully there aren't too many grammar mistakes or misspelled words, because I was just too tired to proof read it, and I'm about to fall asleep any second now…I'm exhausted, I had a long, bad day behind, but decided to finish this chapter already.**

**So to sum it all short…Leo saved an adult couple from four bandits, and got seriously injured in fight. He was also seen and that could lead to even more trouble for him. He currently doesn't have anyone who could help him treat his injuries so…well, we'll see what happens next :)**

**I'll try to update as soon as I possibly can, and try to make next chapter shorter.**

**And again: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR KIND WORDS! :)**

**Until next time!**

**Review **


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